Thursday, September 24, 2009

[USS Charon] SD240909.24 - Duty Log - CHO, Lt. Sakarra Tyrax

La dimanda onestasi de' seguir con l'opera tacendo. A fair request should be followed by the deed in silence. (Dante Alighieri)

[USS Charon, bridge]

Sakarra sat quiet in the center chair, her level gaze on yet another PADD listing damage reports, repair progress reports, requisition requests and the myriad of other things that were bound to come up after a starship had been through yet another ordeal. It made you wish you were on the windswept plains of Gol, listening to the peaceful chanting of monks under a silently burning sky of shining copper. Kaiidth.She focused on the things that did not require the CO's attention first, added a recommendation here, approved a request there and then reorganized the reports for better efficiency. But in the end there were still two more PADDs to add to the ever growing pile on Shiarrael Rehu's desk, although one could hope these two were kept clear and brief enough to require no more than 8.3 minutes of attention. Of course the Ready Room had become a hub of activity yet again, with new crew coming in and 'old' crew needing this or that or other. After handing over the last of the reports to a cheerful yeoman whose tan suggested a recent visit to Lyrilia, the raven-haired young woman leaned back ever so slightly and let her hands relax on the armrests.

The viewscreen diplayed a wide angle, encompassing the wide curve of Lyrilia rolling endlessly beneath Charon and the other ships silently sailing above those hues of green, brown and blue and the purple shimmer of oceans. Closest to Charon was the elegant shape of 'Sunheart', the ship that had remained under a young Vulcan's watchful gaze since the moment of it's arrival.Starlight glinted on the markings of the D'Kalen'ra class cruiser as it performed it's slow dance over the planet, never allowing the distance to Charon's shiny silver hull to grow too great. One might have thought the two starships were lovers, engaged in a flirtatious banter. Or two Le-Matyas circling, waiting, fangs still concealed but subtly hinted at.

Just a little farther away, passing high over Lyrilia's mountains, another silver shape gleamed, ruby and emerald running lights twinkling. A quiet observer hovering at the edge of events, the USS Quantum Fury and her enigmatic CO had drawn almost as much scrutiny from the young Lieutenant as the Rei'Krannsu flagship, although for slightly different reasons. While it is certainly true that Vulcans are not prone to trust 'gut feelings', any one of them who has ever traveled Sas-a-Shar knows the value of trusting one's instincts. Logic dictated that if every sense told you there was a predator although no direct visual or other confirmation was available, you either reacted or risked becoming a Sehlat's lunch. Sakarra's instincts were quite insistent that the Fury's visit was not a simple courtesy and logic alone forbade the notion she had traveled all this way only to drop off personnel. Whatever the agenda behind it all, for the moment at least the dark eyed half-Vulcan was prepared to see the other Starfleet vessel as an ally rather than the bearer of bad news. Unnoticed by anyone on the bridge, a fleeting smile tugged at her lips.Observe, listen, reveal nothing. Commander Kanryth's DNA might not be Vulcan, however he seemed well aware of certain virtues his distant cousins liked to employ.

Farthest from the three, a battered Klingon Vor'Cha class cruiser held position in a high orbit, just about close enough to allow for transport but far enough to make a point. Like a grumpy old targ the Ya'Vang hovered over Charon and the one person on board that held any interest to her scruffy Captain. Allies we may be, the looming bulk of the ship that had weathered many storms from the looks of it, seemed to say. But you don't want to catch me on a bad day. Really, you don't. Sakarra was inclined to take their word for that. Still, there was something bordering on mild affection in the young woman's gaze when she looked at the outlines of the Klingon ship, set against the backdrop of velvet night and glittering stars, it's dull green belly illuminated by the shimmer of Lyrilia's oceans. The finely honed aesthetic senses of a Vulcan might find the powerful ship with it's many sharp angles and almost grotesquely pronounced features an unpleasant, even objectionable sight. But to Sakarra the Ya'Vang would always be the ship that was by their side when they pulled off what had to be one of the most crazy rescue missions in recorded Federation history. So what if she was not beautiful. Her beauty was in the echo her name would produce in the minds of every Lyrillian, who would remember her along with Charon as the one's who gave them a shot at survival.

Another PADD found it's way into Sakarra's hands, more repair schedules and the personnel files of the people transferring from the Sunheart at this very moment. By the time the young Lieutenant had finished absorbing every detail of the files, the turbolift doors opened and her CO stepped onto the bridge. The Commodore's nonchalant manner failed to conceal an undercurrent of irritation from Sakarra's sharp eyes, but the Vulcan merely quirked a brow before standing up and inclining her head in greeting in one fluent, graceful move.